GLOSSARYof Some Music Industry Terms

This glossary was created to be informative and useful. This information should not be a substitute for legal advice and the use of this information should be discussed with a qualified attorney that practices and is licensed in entertainment or music law in your province.

360 Deal This is a type of agreement where an artist signs with a company that has a stake in several of their interests other than recorded music – for example touring and merchandise.

360 Deals Also referred to as "multiple rights deals", 360 deals are exclusive recording artist contracts that allow a record label to receive a percentage of the earnings from ALL of a band's activities instead of just album sales. Under this type of contract , a record label is entitled to a percentage of multiple revenue streams, most of which were previously off limits in a recording contract, such as live concert fees, merchandise sales, endorsement deals, book and movie deals, ringtones, private copying levy royalties, etc., as well as the music publishing rights and revenues of the Artist/Composer(s).

A

A&RThe A&R(Artist and Repertoire) department in a record company is responsible for spotting, nurturing and developing new artists as well as acting as a point of contact for existing ones. They work closely with the artists throughout recording projects, in conjunction with managers, producers, songwriters and other musicians.

AdvanceAn advance is a loan, normally from a record label to an artist, to be repaid (recouped) from record and/or merchandise sales. An advance is for one or more albums depending on the contract. A publisher’s advance would be recouped from publishing royalties.

AgentSomeone who liaises with promoters and venues to book gigs for bands.

Agent/Agency Music agents, otherwise known as booking agents, are the people who help make the live music happen. A good agent with well-placed connections can help get a band in front of the right audience to increase their profile. Agents work closely with promoters and record labels to get the bands on their books the proper exposure. Music agents also negotiate with promoters and venues for performance contracts and arrangements for things like backline and accommodation.

Airplay (royalties)Broadcasters secure performance licenses from SOCAN for the right to play live and recorded music. License money is shared among members minus the society commission.

AssignmentCopyright can be assigned to a label or publisher, or a third party such as a royalty collection society for a period of time. This allows the assignee to act on behalf the copyright owner to issue licenses and collect royalties within the terms of the assignment.

Audio StreamsStreaming is when a digital file is delivered electronically to a computer, read in real time by the computer and is stored temporarily on the computer for the purpose of a one-time use. It is analogous to a radio transmission. On demand streaming is the term given to streams that have been prepared and are available for users who wish to play a specific song at a specific time. Public performance royalties apply to streams and mechanical royalties do not.

AVLA Audio Video Licensing Agency. is a non-exclusive agency that provides licences on behalf of record companies and producers for the purpose of broadcasting or duplicating audio and video recordings in Canada. AVLA’s members are the owners or controllers in copyright of sound recordings and music videos.

B

Band Contracts A band partnership agreement spells out the rights of individual band members and how they get paid. If there is no band contract, anything not owned by individuals is liable to be shared equally between the members. Unequal shares must be formalised.

Barcode A barcode is a machine readable number (e.g. UPC code) used for various purposes in manufacture, retail and commercial use of CDs and Vinyl. Barcodes don’t just identify CDs at the counter, they are also used for chart returns. Some distributors and retailers insist on barcoding.

Blanket License A license issued by a performing rights society that authorizes the public performance of all the songs in the society’s catalog. This allows the licensee to perform as many or as few of the titles as desired.

Booking Agent The booking agent is usually responsible for securing and booking gigs for the artist.

Bootleg Bootlegs are unsanctioned releases usually consisting of live, demo or ‘rare’ recordings. They can also take the form of unauthorised DJ mixes, using material not licensed from the copyright holder.

Blank Media Levy Some countries including Canada impose a tax on CD-R, cassette, other blank media and players to compensate for supposed illicit copying. In the EU there are blank media levies in Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Belgium and Greece. Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta plan to implement levies, or have recently done so.

Blanket License A blanket license is an exclusive arrangement applied in the same way to everyone who licenses the material. Rights owners who sign a blanket license agreement get a basic package that fits most cases. Most mainstream broadcasters (such as the BBC) have blanket licenses with PPL and PRS.

Branding Taking your band, music and image and creating something unique and sellable

Broadcast The replaying of pre-recorded works to multiple listeners through various media or in a ‘semi-live’ setting such as a bar or bookstore, and including radio, TV, webcasting, podcasting, etc.Business Manager A representative who helps the musician with financial planning, investment decisions, tax matters, monitoring of income from contracts, estate planning and other financial matters.

C

Clearance (copyright) For the right to use music in some circumstances it must be cleared with the copyright owners. Clearance is needed for copying, not just for commercial use. It is normally negotiated through licensing and collection societies, but may be collected through labels and publishers.

Collection Societies Collection societies issue licenses to music users and share the license fees among copyright owners (normally record labels, publishers, writers and performers). In Canada they are SOCAN, MROC, and ACTRA, CMRRACompact Discs Compact discs have been the standard media for delivery of music through retail channels for at least a decade. Mechanical licenses may apply to your CD recordings.

Composer The individual who wrote the song, found at the top right of the title page and used to identify a copyrighted work. Often multiple songs share the same title. So this is necessary to locate the proper copyright holder of a song. It is also required information under the compulsory mechanical licensing provisions.

Compulsory Licensing United States copyright laws that mandate that copyright holders issue licenses to licensees when they follow certain procedures outlined in the law. The law includes compulsory provisions for various uses of copyrighted materials. For music, there are mechanical compulsory provisions and streaming and limited (subscription) download provisions.

Compulsory Mechanical License An exception to the copyright holder's exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution that allows anyone to record and distribute any commercially-released, non-dramatic song as long as the mechanical license rates established by copyright law are paid to the copyright owner of the song.

Compulsory Mechanical Licensing A process, defined in the copyright law, that mandates that copyright holders issue mechanical licenses to licensees who follow the compulsory licensing procedures. Those procedures require the licensee to notify the copyright holder, report distribution details, and provide a royalty payment at the statutory rate.

Copyright A bundle of exclusive rights granted by law to the creator of an original literary, artistic, or other intellectual work - including songs and sound recordings.

The exclusive right to reproduce, publish, sell or distribute the matter and form of an original literary, artistic, or other intellectual work – including songs and sound recordings.Copyright is a property right which arises at the moment of creation of a song or sound recording. It does not need to be registered (in the UK) and gives content creators and owners the exclusive right to make copies, license and otherwise exploit their work. In music there are copyrights relating to lyrics (if applicable), music and the actual sound recording.Counterfeit This is the term used to describe a physical product (CD or LP) that resembles an official release but is actually an unauthorised version not produced by the copyright holder.

D-E

Demo A sample recording of a band's music. Often rough recordings or early versions of "songs in progress."

Distribution Often labels will approach a distributor to act as a middleman between themselves and retailers. Traditional distribution is about taking orders for and supplying CDs (or other physical product) from record labels to retail, although their role can be more complex and they may also promote and invest in releases. Digital distributors (see ‘Aggregators’) serve online stores (such as iTunes) in a similar fashion, handling downloadable releases by many labels at the same time and ensuring they are supplied to all the different online outlets.

Download Downloading is the process of actively receiving data to a local system (such as your computer) from a remote system (such as a webserver). Downloads are storable on a hard drive, as opposed to ‘streamed’ data which is not accessible offline.

DRM DRM (Digital Rights Management) is a form of code embedded in some digital files to enforce certain restrictions on the repeat copying or distribution of files. While most music sold in the early years of digital retail encompassed some form of coded protection now most downloadable music is sold DRM-free.

Duplication The process of manufacturing CDs or DVDs with a laser that burns data onto the disc typically used for order quantities under 500 units.

F-H

Filesharing Filesharing is the activity of trading digital files with other users over the internet. Users trade files by downloading (to obtain them) and uploading (to distribute them). This is illegal when copyrighted material is made available without the permission of the rightsholders.

I-K

IFPIIFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) represents the recording industry worldwide, with a membership comprising some 1400 record companies in 72 countries and affiliated industry associations in 44 countries. IFPI's mission is to promote the value of recorded music, safeguard the rights of record producers and expand the commercial uses of recorded music in all markets where its members operate.

Indie/IndependentIndie is a broad term with many meanings. It refers to record labels, ways of doing business, styles of music and a number of philosophies. For chart purposes, ‘indie’ labels were traditionally classified as such if their product was handled by a non-major owned distributor; for the purposes of the independent chart launched in 2009 a title is eligible “if it is released on a label which is 50% or more owned by an independent (or non-major) company, irrespective of the distribution channel through which it is shipped or delivered”.

Intellectual propertyIntellectual property (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognised and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works as well as words, phrases, symbols, and designs.

L

LicensingThis is the process whereby the copyright holder of a song (or songs) authorises its usage by a third party. Unlike assignment, licensing will usually take place for a finite period of time. This might be in the form of allowing a song’s appearance on a compilation right through to allowing a third party to reissue an artist’s entire back catalogue in full. The terms of the agreement will cover the term of the license (for example, how long the third party is allowed to use the song(s) for) as well as what kind of recompense will be received. Licensing also covers the commercial use of repertoire in adverts, films, TV etc (see sync licensing).

LicensorThe owner of the licensed work.

Limited DownloadsA limited download is a digital file that is delivered electronically to a computer to reside there for a limited period of time. There are two types of limited downloads: limited-time download (i.e. the song resides on the computer for 30 days) and limited-use download (i.e. the song is can be heard 10 times before it can no longer be played).

M

MajorThe original definition of a ‘major’ was a record company which also owned manufacturing and distribution facilities. The ownership and structure of all the majors has changed since the definition was first coined but still the ‘big four’ (in terms of market share – Universal, Sony, EMI and Warners) are commonly identified by this term.

MasteringMastering is the process of preparing the final mix of a song or album for duplication – the ‘master’ is the finalised source from which all copies of the finished product will be produced.

Mechanical LicenseA license that grants certain limited permissions to work with, reinterpret, (re-)record (etc.) music that is neither a free/open source item nor in the public domain. Authorization from a music publisher or song writer to record and distribute a song on phonorecords. Compare to compulsory mechanical license.

MedleyA song that uses portions of other songs and blends them together into a new arrangement.

MerchandiseMerchandise, often called merch, is a blanket term for artist-related goods other than music e.g. T-shirts, posters, etc. Some artist-branded products, e.g. USB sticks, may be both merch and promo.

MMFThe MMF (Music Managers Forum) acts as a voice for artist managers within the music industry, provides a focus for dialogue with the Government and other industry organisations as well as between managers themselves.

Music PublishingThe contractual relationship between a songwriter or music composer and a music publisher. whereby the writer assigns part or all of his or her music copyrights to the publisher in exchange for the publisher’s commercial exploitation of the music.

Music PublisherA music publisher is responsible for ensuring that songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are commercially used. Through an agreement called a publishing agreement (see below), a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. The publishing company normally takes a percentage of income derived from the exploitation of the copyrights.

Music SupervisorA music supervisor is the person in charge of placing music in films, TV shows, advertising and video games. Clients approach music supervisors with an idea of what kind of music they need for their project (or sometimes even specific ideas of songs they want), and the music supervisor then finds the appropriate music and acts as a liaison between clients and the rights holders of the music. They work to arrange the appropriate licensing for the songs, and work to negotiate licensing deals that come in on budget for their clients.

N-O

Neighbouring RightIn Canada, neighbouring rights are known as the rights that performers (e.g. musicians) and makers (e.g. record companies) have in the performance of their sound recordings. It’s called a neighbouring right because it is similar to but not exactly like a copyright. By comparison, the rights that SOCAN administers are known as copyrights, and they include the performance rights that songwriters, composers, authors and music publishers have in their works (not just the performance of sound recordings).

P-R

P2PP2P (Peer-To-Peer) is a way of networking computers over the internet so they can exchange files directly. P2P became more widely known through the use of filesharing systems and applications such as the original Napster and Kazaa in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Performing Rights LicenseAuthorization for the public performance of a song frequently granted by a performing rights society through a blanket license.

Performing Rights SocietyThe associations or companies that issue performing rights licenses, track public performances, collect performing license revenues and distribute those revenues to song writers and music publishers. The performing rights societies in the United States are ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

Performing Rights LicenseAuthorization for the public performance of a song frequently granted by a performing rights society through a blanket license.

Performing Rights SocietyASCAP, BMI and SESAC are the main organizations that issue performing rights licenses, track public performances, collect performing license revenues and distribute revenues to song writers and music publishers.

Personal ManagerA representative who assists the musician in the development and management of his music and entertainment career

ProducerThe producer is responsible for putting the record/song/album together and making it sellable. This can involve picking out songs or helping the artist with songwriting. A good producer will usually ensure that the songs are acceptable to the record label and for radio as well as see the project through, from pre production to the final mastering stage.

PromoterA promoter stages events. They normally bid for rights to stage a concert or a tour and recoup their outlay through ticketing and sub-licensing.

PRS For MusicFormerly known as the Performing Rights Society, PRS collects and distributes royalties arising when music by its writer and publisher members is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, performed or played in public, broadcast or made publicly available online.

Public DomainPublic Domain (or PD) refers to any material not ‘in copyright’ and therefore available to be exploited without the permission of any copyright holders. Under current intellectual property law, the copyright in a sound recording expires fifty years after the recording is first made commercially available, hence recordings released up to the late 1950s are currently free to be commercially exploited without the permission of the original sound copyright holder.

PublisherWhilst publishers traditionally made their living reproducing and selling sheet music, today they invest in, promote and represent songwriters (or particular song catalogues) and are responsible for ensuring payments are made when their clients’ compositions are used commercially.Publishers help musicians give permission and collect payments when they share their compositions with others. They also help musicians promote and distribute their compositions. Publishers also help with Print Rights, Mechanical and Synchronization rights. Some musicians choose to self-publish, meaning they handle these tasks on their own.

Public Domain (PD) Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all, if the intellectual property rights have expired and/or if the intellectual property rights are forfeited. In Canada, the life of copyright is normally the lifespan of the author-composer plus 50 years following his/her death. After this time, the work enters the public domain if not owned or controlled by anyone.

S-W

SamplingSampling is the act of copying a portion of one sound recording and reusing it in a new recording. Without the appropriate clearance from the copyright holders of the original song, sampling can be held to be an infringement of copyright in the original sound recording from which the sample was taken.

StreamingStreaming audio or video is that which is processed and watched over the internet in ‘real time’, rather than being made available to download, store and watch at another time.

Sub-PublisherA foreign agent retained by the original music publisher of a song to exploit the song in the foreign agent’s geographic territory.

Sync licenseA music synchronisation license (or ‘sync’) is required to use a copyrighted piece of music in (for example) a film, game, or advert. It will usually cover a specific period of time and stipulate how the song can be used.

Synchronization LicenseAuthorization granted by a music publisher, or songwriter to use a song with visual images such as motion picture or television.

Synchronization (“Sync”) Right The sync right is the right to authorize the recording of a musical work onto the soundtrack of an audio/visual work (film, television program, music video, video game, commercial). A synchronization licence is needed for a song to be reproduced and songwriters and publishers receive royalties for sync rights.